Editing Granfalloon

{{Short description|Concept in Kurt Vonnegut's Bokononism}}
{{about|some intentionally cryptic concepts|the heraldic and military flags|gonfalon}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2014}}

A '''granfalloon''', in the fictional religion of [[Bokononism]] (created by [[Kurt Vonnegut]] in his 1963 novel ''[[Cat's Cradle]]''), is defined as a "false [[Bokononism|karass]]". That is, it is a group of people who affect a shared identity or purpose, but whose mutual association is meaningless.

As quoted in ''And So It Goes: Kurt Vonnegut: A Life'' (2011) by [[Charles J. Shields]], Vonnegut writes in his introduction to his book ''[[Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons]]'' (1974) that a "granfalloon is a proud and meaningless collection of human beings"; Shields also comments that in the same book, Vonnegut later cites the [[demonym]] of '[[Hoosier]]s' as "one of [Vonnegut's] favorite examples" of what the term embodies. Another example of a granfalloon given in ''Cat's Cradle'' is 'alumni of [[Cornell University]]'. Kurt Vonnegut himself was born in [[Indiana]] and attended Cornell University.

==Examples==
The most commonly purported granfalloons are associations and societies based on a shared but ultimately fabricated premise. Examples from ''Cat's Cradle'' include: "the [[Communist Party USA|Communist Party]], the [[Daughters of the American Revolution]], the [[General Electric|General Electric Company]]—and any [[nation]], anytime, anywhere."  A more general and oft-cited quote defines a granfalloon as "a proud and meaningless association of human beings."<ref>Author's own introduction to Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons, 1974</ref> Other examples of ''granfalloons'' cited in the novel include [[Hoosier]]s, which included the fictional narrator (and Vonnegut himself); and Cornellians (those who attended [[Cornell University]])—which also included the fictional narrator and Vonnegut himself.

<blockquote>
If you wish to examine a granfalloon, just remove the skin of a toy balloon. — Bokonon
</blockquote>

<blockquote><poem>
"My God," she said, "are you a Hoosier?"
I admitted I was.
"I'm a Hoosier, too," she crowed. "Nobody has to be ashamed of being a Hoosier."''
"I'm not," I said. "I never knew anybody who was."
– Kurt Vonnegut, ''Cat's Cradle''
</poem></blockquote>

<blockquote><poem>
"His gaze lit on Newt again. "You go to college?"
"Cornell," said Newt.
"Cornell!" cried Crosby gladly. "My God, I went to Cornell."
"So did he." Newt nodded at me.
"Three Cornellians – all in the same plane!" said Crosby, and we had another granfalloon festival on our hands.
– Kurt Vonnegut, ''Cat's Cradle''
</poem></blockquote>

<blockquote><poem>
They had found a can of white paint, and on the front doors of the cab Frank had painted white stars, and on the roof he had painted the letters of a granfalloon: U.S.A.
– Kurt Vonnegut, ''Cat's Cradle''
</poem></blockquote>In the English translations of the several entries of the popular video game series ''[[Castlevania]]'', the name Granfalloon has been used as an alternate name to represent the Judeo-Christian demon Legion. Particularly noted in ''[[Castlevania: Symphony of the Night]]'' as a mass of living corpses whom the protagonist [[Alucard (Castlevania)|Alucard]], son of [[Dracula (Castlevania)|Dracula]], fights against as one of the game's many bosses. Series director [[Koji Igarashi]] (a.k.a. Iga) is a noted fan of [[Kurt Vonnegut]] and selected this alternate name for Legion, as he believed the Vonnegut concept to be a perfect representation for that boss.{{Citation needed|date=November 2020}}

==Granfalloon technique==
[[File:Sport Festival 2014 HN-Ams DSC02164.JPG|thumb|For a sport festival, participants are randomly split into color groups.]]
The '''granfalloon technique''' is a method of persuasion in which individuals are encouraged to identify with a particular granfalloon or social group.<ref name="Alison Carpenter">[http://www.utc.edu/Faculty/Joe-Wilferth/courses/Pratkanis.pdf Book Review of ''Age of Propaganda'' by Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson]{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Alison Carpenter</ref> The pressure to identify with a group is meant as a method of securing the individual's loyalty and commitment through adoption of the group's symbols, rituals, and beliefs.

In social psychology, the concept stems from research by the Polish social psychologist [[Henri Tajfel]], whose findings have come to be known as the [[minimal group paradigm]]. In his research, Tajfel found that strangers would form groups on the basis of completely inconsequential criteria.

In one study, Tajfel subjects were asked to watch a coin toss. They were then designated to a particular group based on whether the coin landed on heads or tails. The subjects placed in groups based on such meaningless associations between them have consistently been found to "act as if those sharing the meaningless labels were kin or close friends."<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Michael |last1=Billig |first2=Henri |last2=Tajfel |year=1973 |title=Social categorization and similarity in intergroup behaviour |journal=European Journal of Social Psychology |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=27–52 |doi=10.1002/ejsp.2420030103}}</ref>

Researchers since Tajfel have made strides into unraveling the mystery behind this phenomenon. Today it is broken down into two basic psychological processes, one cognitive and one motivational.

First, knowing that one is a part of this group is used to make sense of the world. When one associates with a particular group, those in the group focus on the similarities between the members. However, for people not in the group, or "outsiders," differences are focused upon and often exaggerated. A problem with the granfalloon is that it often leads to [[Ingroups and outgroups|in-group, out-group]] [[bias]].

Second, [[social group]]s provide a source of self-esteem and pride, a form of reverse [[Groucho Marxism]] as in his famous remark "I don't care to belong to any club that would have me as a member."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pratkanis |first1=Anthony R. |first2=Elliot |last2=Aronson |title=Age of Propaganda |edition=Rev. |location=New York |publisher=Owl Book |year=1992 |pages=214–223 }}</ref>

The [[imagined communities]] of [[Benedict Anderson]] form a similar concept. Therapist Grant Devilly considers that granfalloons are one explanation for how [[pseudoscientific]] topics are promoted.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/j.1440-1614.2005.01601.x |title=Power Therapies and possible threats to the science of psychology and psychiatry |year=2005 |last1=Devilly |first1=Grant J. |journal=Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry |volume=39 |issue=6 |pages=437–45 |pmid=15943644|s2cid=208627667 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Granfalloon (fanzine)|''Granfalloon'' (fanzine)]]
* [[Tribalism]]

==References and footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{Kurt Vonnegut}}

[[Category:Kurt Vonnegut]]
[[Category:Nonce words]]
[[Category:Fictional organizations]]
[[Category:Fictional elements introduced in 1963]]